How to Get Better Exposure at LinkedIn

LinkedIn is becoming on the most important social media tools out there if you want to stay connected to potential employers. More employers are reviewing LinkedIn profiles for all job applicants. In addition, if job seekers can use LinkedIn to find potential employment. But, if you are wondering why more potential employers are not clicking on your LinkedIn profile, you may need to employ certain strategies to increase your exposure. 

The first strategy you should do is to update your LinkedIn profile consistently. Updating your profile does one of two things: it strengthens your resume by highlighting more skills and it makes your profile appear in searches. The more you update your LinkedIn profile, the more your profile is not only seen as active, but also updates make your profile appear in recent searches. Say you add SEO as a skill. When employer searches for workers who are experienced in SEO, your profile will appear near the top because of this update. Try to update consistently until you reach the max amount of updates per section. 

The second strategy you could employ is to carefully select your skills. Having unique keywords in skills or expertise narrows how people will search for you. For example, if you live in Illinois and are an accountant, you could have a skill keyword like “Illinois accountancy”. Not many people will have “Illinois accountancy”, making you one of few people in a pool of workers an employer could be looking for. This also follows with the job titles you have in your work experience. Obviously, you cannot lie, but instead of saying “accountant at company X”, you could say “Illinois accountant at company x”.

A third strategy that can connect you more people and potential employers is to get endorsements. Former employers, co-workers, and friends can endorse skills you listed on LinkedIn. When a person endorses a skill you hold, this adds to your exposure. For example, other LinkedIn users who are connected to your former employers, co-workers, or friends will see they endorsed you on a skill. This can make these viewers click on your profile to find out more about you. 

A fourth strategy is to increase your potential connections, thereby exposing yourself to more people. You could import all your professional contacts into your LinkedIn profile, allowing many people you worked with the chance to connect with you. Join professional groups on LinkedIn and interact on the groups. This allows you to meet, interact, and connect with new people. 

Another useful strategy is to edit the URL for your LinkedIn profile. This is a helpful technique if you are a professional expert in a field. Your URL could have your name, but it can also have “licensed Illinois accountant”. This allows search engines to pick up your LinkedIn profile if an employer wants to find a licensed accountant in Illinois. 

Once you feel your LinkedIn profile is crafted correctly, you still need to network it properly for better exposure. One strategy is to badge your LinkedIn profile with other accounts you have. If you have a personal blog or other social accounts, like Facebook, you should add your LinkedIn link to those accounts so visitors of your blog, personal website, or social media accounts can connect to your LinkedIn profile.

Finally, if you want to utilize all the resources LinkedIn has to offer, you can consider paying for a full account. A full LinkedIn account allows you to contact recruiters or executives of companies who might not have contact information available if you have the free LinkedIn account. The full service LinkedIn account does cost money per month, but it could be one the best ways to connect yourself to other people and increase your exposure.

Nisha represents a site called Monetise.co.uk. she enjoys writing about business and indulges in the internet marketing world.

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How To Get Better CTR From Your Search Rankings

It is a tough world for webmasters. First, you must rank on the first page of search engine results. Next, you have to climb as far up as possible on the page. And even then you are not assured of the traffic you are looking for! This happens because people may decide not to click on your link. Fortunately, the behavior is explainable, and correctable. Read on to find out how to get better CTR from your search rankings.

Meta Descriptions

Two major factors come to mind that can get your link clicked: an exact query match, and an interesting description. A combination of the two is, of course, always a winner.

Think of meta descriptions as article headlines or teasers. If someone is searching for 'seven day course to lose weight', and if you have targeted the exact same keyphrase, you are likely to draw attention if you have secured a leading place in the SERP. However, others may have done it too, and the meta descriptions now make or break your CTR. 

Consider the following: 'Lose no less than 7 pounds of fat in 7 days by eating these three common foods found in every kitchen. Plus a bonus secret food that turns your breakfast into the ultimate fat melting event of your day, every day!' This is not a lie, and adding yogurt to your breakfast can actually speed up fat burning. However, even though 'We will tell you how to eat properly and what foods will help you get rid of fat. You will also find out about a specific food that can make your breakfast healthier', says much the same thing, it sounds insipid and somewhat preachy. Agreed, these are not the best or worst meta descriptions in the world, but you probably get the idea.

Use rel="author" and Schema Markups for Rich Snippets

If you are not using the rel="author" tag to put your portrait on SERP, you are losing out big time. Not just your face, you could use any image that can promote your brand. In addition, it is possible to add laser focused terminology to the description that is shown below your site title, and display any ratings you may have received in the form of stars. 

To understand how to use rel="author", read all about it on Google, or, if you are running a Wordpress blog, use the free Yoast plug in by Joost de Valk. Visit Schema.org to find out about the markups that should have revolutionized the way search listings appear if only more people were paying attention. And since they are not, you can seize the opportunity to stand out. The markups will decipher your content to the search engines who see no practically no difference between a phone number and the figures that describe your annual turnover. With the markups in place, you can target the exact keyphrases and have them appear on your site description. 

Aim for Sitelinks

Sitelinks are the 'sub-links' that appear below your main site listing. Each has its own description, and certainly, a result with Sitelinks stands out. Getting Sitelinks is easier said than done because Google (secretly) decides who gets the privilege. However, we can make intelligent guesses about how to maximize our chances.

Perform a complete site audit and do the needful with relation to submission of your website to Google. Follow the best practices especially regarding site structure as dictated by Google Webmaster Tools guidelines. Update your site map as and when you update your site. Make certain that all information your site contains is categorized scrupulously to ensure maximum ease of navigation. Make sure also that categories do not overlap unnecessarily, but do create deep links.

If you look at the typical Sitelinks, you will find that for the company Red Box, the sub-links will show things like 'small red box', 'big red box' 'rectangular red box', 'circular red box', red boxes for children' and so on. Clearly, the more organized you are with your information and page titles, the better chance you have at getting Sitelinks. 

All of the three steps above show you how to get better CTR from your search rankings. You may be tempted to dismiss the last measure since it appears to be too much of a long shot, but hardly anything impressive was ever built in a day. If you persist, and remain attentive to the analytics that Google provides for free, you should soon notice a significant improvement in CTR. The best news is that you only have to do the hard work once, and then perform minor tweaks later as and when required.

Author Bio:

Jason Smith is an online manager for Inbound Marketing Company. Jason likes blogging about online strategies that are related to SEO, Content, PPC & Lead generation.

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What Is Author Rank And Why Does It Matter?

If you have been using Google+ and always updating and interacting through it, you probably have heard something about Author Rank. Considering that Google is in a constant motion to deal a deathly blow to spammy content, Author Rank is expected to be the next big thing in terms of ranking. 

Background on Author Rank

As early as 2005, a patent was filed by Google on what was called Agent Rank. In the patent, Google described how a number of parameters were to be used in ascertaining the position of an agent in a specific niche. They included the popularity of an agent and his authority on a specific subject. Until recently, search results and popularity has been determined by algorithm, which considers different factors including links to other high quality web pages. Obviously, Google has been on a constant search for high quality web pages that meets the needs of searchers. 

Google did not have substantial qualitative data that justified social interactions as a factor in direct ranking. However, in 2011, a solution presented itself after Google plus was launched. They now had a platform that could be used to activate Agent Rank, which is today known as Author Rank. 

Metrics impacting Author Rank 

The simple fact about Author Rank is identifying individuals, the knowledge they have about certain subjects and how others react to the content they have published. Since Google has access to a lot of data, there are a number of metrics Google has deemed to impact Author Rank. These include engagements on Google plus, connections with other authors, comments, number of Google plus circles, authority on various social platforms, external engagement, shares and plus-likes. Others include various authority signals such as mentions through news resources, citations and articles among others, inbound links and the page rank of specific articles. 

While these metrics are not anything most have not heard about, the huge difference is the tying of all these metrics of Author Rank to a specific author providing the content, not just the website hosting the content. 

When Author Rank will officially roll out is not actually known but when it does, for many it will be too late. Obviously, it is not going to affect site traffic in the manner that Panda did but the impact will be definitely big. The rollout will certainly not be a penalty by Google's algorithm but websites preparing for it and building this rank for their website contributors will benefit a lot. The rollout will be a penalty in a way for brands and sites that are not preparing for it. The truth is it will take some time before Google is convinced Author Rank can be relied on. It could take years or a few days but since no one really knows, the idea is to begin working on Author Rank with immediate effect. 

How to start building Author Rank

You should begin by setting up Google Authorship apart from having a rich snippet for search results. Once this has been set up, Google will know exactly how to calculate or assign you the first ever Author Rank by tying the online identity you have and content you have created. 

Do not forget after setting up Google Authorship to track all the killer/quality content you have created across the web and make sure the rich-snippet markup has been corrected. There are tools that test rich snippets that can help in this. Otherwise, you will risk your killer content not being factored in your assigned Author Rank. 

Start or continue writing great content 

For those working on building a formidable Author Rank, it is not something hard. Any career SEO has a vested interest in having killer content out there, or they desire to do so. This can be done by creating content that shows your expertise, improves your reputation while demonstrating value on a specific field. Do not forget to help others in search engine optimizing by sharing knowledge. Always remember to create the kind of content compelling others to share it; the content audience want to know about and resources important to them. 

Focus on a particular topic 

With Author Rank, it will be possible to earn more than one rank in different topics as compared to Page Rank. Simply determine what you are passionate about, write all the content you can within that specific area. You might want to write on different topics but the Author Rank will definitely not be strong if you write on many topics as compared to just one. 

Constant use of Google+

Those who do not like Google plus will definitely have a big problem; Google is bound to make the most of your circles to come up with an Author Rank. Make sure people are compelled to begin following you. You can make the most of Google plus by updating it a couple of times a day by checking on +1, global and personal feed to find stories that interest you. 

Do not forget to befriend or follow as many great authors as much as possible on the Author Rank order and have them encircling you. Apart from following them, put as much content as possible that you have written before them.

Author Bio:

Jason Smith is an online manager for SEO company. Jason likes blogging about online strategies that are related to SEO, Content, PPC & Lead generation.

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How to Use Facebook as an Online Marketing Tool

As an online marketing and public relations tool nothing can beat Facebook. Started out as a social networking platform, the site today boasts of millions of users. Any message on Facebook goes viral in a few minutes. Here are some easy tips on how to use Facebook as an online marketing tool for your products and services:

# 1: Highlight your profile: Being proactive automatically optimizes your profile for search engines. Your presence on the Internet can be made more prominent with the help of your Facebook profile by:

• Posting messages on your wall every day with something interesting and thought-provoking.
• Checking statuses, comments, likes and sharing of friends and add your comments.
• Adding photo albums and videos as often as you can, including those of workshops, seminars, conferences that you have attended and/or organized.
• Keeping tagging your friends and fans in photos.
• Adding interesting photos of your vacations to add a sense of fun to your profile.

# 2: Use Fan Pages: Facebook provides Fan Pages specifically designed to highlight products, brands, business organizations, services and to promote celebrities. With this page you to invite public to become a fan follower and ask them to share images, videos, comments, discussions and status updates with their friend. The constant activity helps to optimize your profile for search engines.

# 3: Publicize an event: Facebook is a great public platform to announce an event like a seminar, conference or workshop that you are organizing. Just set your profile to “public” and the whole world will know what you are planning. Announce the topic of the event and invite suggestions/comments from your network.

# 4: Form a group: Use our Facebook profile to form a group. Mention the purpose of the group and if it is business-profit oriented, you will be surprised at the volume of response. This will help to create brand value and build the credibility of the company. Once the group is established, you can then communicate directly by sending messages into their Inbox.

# 5: Use targeted landing pages: Let’s say you are dealing in apparel for teenagers and adults. The two age groups will prefer different styles and brands. When a teenager is looking for jeans and tank top, the landing page must be more specific to the searcher’s needs. Having to scroll through irrelevant options is tedious. People looking for XXL garments should not have to wade through funky leather jackets before finding what they really want.

# 6: Use Facebook Marketplace: This is an app that facilitates people and businesses list out products and services for sale. The Marketplace app shows the most recent listings as part of your status update and not as a separate list that viewers may overlook. Your friends will see the items as a newsfeed. Now they can share the information with their own network of friends creating an exponential effect.

# 7: Reward fans: When you have fans who are regularly clicking like and share options against your status updates, images and videos, they are spreading your brand name across the global marketplace. Announce reward points with a cut off, at which stage you can offer freebies and discounts. This is a marketing strategy that actually works.

# 8: Announce a contest: Using Facebook to announce a contest with a prize for the winner will generate a lot of interest. Make the content interesting and challenging enough so that more people share the news. It will also encourage people to share the news with their friends, friends-of-friends, and so on…

Once these measures are implemented, you will find that Facebook is the most powerful online marketing tool. It is known to drive inbound traffic to a website and increase the conversion rate.

Tanya Hansen, a freelance writer for Homesecurityreviewsite.com – offers full home security to help protect your family, assets from burglary and other crimes. Home Security Companies

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Google Browser Size Helps Increase Engagement

Browser Size from Google Labs is quite an eye-opening tool. It tells you quite visually what percentage of your traffic is seeing a chopped-off version of your web page.

The first impression your website makes is how much of it can be seen in the visible area of a browser. Before the user decides to click, or even scroll anything, he will be looking at your website through a narrow lens. It’s in your best interest to optimize your content to look fantastic even when the window is small. Often overlooked, the way your webpage fits into your visitors’ viewport needs to be optimized to showcase all your best content.

Note that viewport size isn’t simply just a function of mobile vs. web. People have different screen sizes for their computers, from 11 inch or smaller laptops to 32 inch or more monitors. Also, many many users do not keep their browsers maximized; they resize the browser into all different shapes and sizes. Yet, for all of these different types of visitors, we want to make a great impression by keeping our most compelling content “above the fold.”

This snapshot illustrates how Browser Size can help a website:

I typed in a URL at the top (from my site), realtweeter.com/tweeters , and it loaded my page against a colorful graph-looking overlay. The numbers at the top edge and left edge represent pixel rulers, so you can judge different browser viewport sizes. The lines and percentages are Google’s reporting of what percentage of web traffic have a viewport at least as large as the line denotes. So for example, Bruno Mars can be seen by 99% of all visitors, because 99% of all visitors are using a browser viewport at least that size.

The tool has done its job, now it’s up to our own judgment as to what to make of the results. I’ve adopted 80% as my minimum critera. That is, if 80% of traffic can see what I want them to see, then the page is acceptable. This is not the case with this page. I do want users to see the page number links (prev, next, 1, 2, 3, etc.) to show that I provide thousands of tweeters, not just twelve. This navigation bar is below the 80% viewport range, so I have some work to do. Also, Browser Size is telling me that I should relocate my left sidebar to the right side of the page. It is pushing content on the right had side off of the viewport needlessly. Only 90% of people can see Kim Kardashian’s face; I would like even more visitors to be able to see my best content.

You can access Browser Size from your Google Analytics account. Under My Stuff, open Content and select In-Page Analytics. A button on the right hand side (labeled Browser Size) will bring up an integrated interface to the Browser Size functionality. It is also available simply at browsersize.googlelabs.com as of this writing, but Google warns it will be sunsetted in the future in deference to the version integrated into Google Anayltics.

Considering how your site looks through a variety of viewport sizes can be illuminating. You may be trying to raise user engagement, CTRs and the like through more straightforward methods. Considering viewport size lets you tap into the less unquantifiable aspects of UX to improve your site.

Philip Stylianos is the VP of Product at Real Tweeter, a social media aggregation site that displays Twitter data in an interesting way, including top tweets updated hourly and the real screen names of celebrities on Twitter.

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How to check for Google seo updates and confirm them

If you have a site, you are always keen to know how it is faring in the search engine rankings. Everybody wants their site to be in the top one or two pages of Google or any of the other search engines and are doing everything they can to improve the SEO of their site.

While there are many ways to find out the performance of your site and how many hits it is receiving, webmasters find it a problem when there is a search update from Google.

This is how people identify the changes in the traffic.

Now tools like Google Analytics do help you check out your site stats quite accurately as long as things are constant and there is no great change in the manner search engines evaluate or rank sites.

But with Google SEO Updates becoming so common and dynamic, webmasters are unable to comprehend the net impact of these updates on the ranking of their sites.

They are also puzzled with the ever changing position of their sites on the search engines and are unsure about what is causing it – is their site getting lesser traffic organically or is it due to the impact of one of the latest Google update like Google Panda or Penguin?

Conversely, if there is no major change in site stats, webmasters cannot afford to be complacent and think that there have been no changes in the manner Google or other search engines now rank sites.

So what is the solution?

Mozcast.com is one solution that can really help webmasters tackle this problem. This site has been conceived and developed to help webmasters know about the various Google search updates and how it impacts the SERPS.

This site has been the brainchild of top SEO experts who are fully aware of the working of Google and therefore know the issues faced by webmasters. They have put in their expertise and years of experience in coming out with this site and are confident it would provide the required information to webmasters on a timely basis.

Essentially, they have relied on randomized collection of data as factors to determine the impact of Google SEO updates.

The collection of this data revolves around taking random keywords, local searches for those keywords, regional searches and hits at other data servers for those keywords to identify any possible impact on that site over time.

Taking the top 10 results of the keywords from the data collected, they have attempted to give the data a particular identity and have represented it like the temperature degree in terms of intensity and impact. A fixed multiplier factor of -28 has been used to compute and represent the final figure.

Analyzing the data of a site over a period of 30 days or even a week would throw up that figure. If it is 70, then the interpretation is that there has been no update, whereas if that figure is on the lower or higher side, then it means there has been an impact due to some Google search update.

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Dos and Don’ts for Brands on Social Media

The unparalleled growth in popularity and interest in social sites like Facebook and Twitter saw an initial clamour from organisations of all sizes to adopt social media marketing. A consequence of this was a series of out of touch corporate organisations attempting to force their brand messages on to consumers in an environment they were wholly inexperienced and unprepared for. Learning from those mistakes the majority of brands are now highly social media savvy and able to interact smoothly with consumers.

Being a casual consumer led environment, users are often wary of corporate brands intent on mere self-promotion rather than adhering to the values of the site itself.

It is a fine line for corporations to balance the need to advertise with the need to interact and getting the balance wrong will seriously damage their consumer PRefforts.

Take a look at the following guide to dos and don’ts on social media and you will make sure your brand doesn’t run the risk of losing followers or fans online.

Do Ensure Every Post is Meaningful

The quickest way to lose followers or “likes” is posting bland and meaningless updates. Why should anyone follow or read about an organisation that offers nothing of value? Give customers a reason to engage and interact with you by offering them something worth interacting with. This is part of the reason behind the explosion in popularity of infographics. Share something valuable (or link to someone else’s)  and avoid at all costs mundane and generic posts asking people how their weekend went, their thoughts on last night’s Eastenders or complaints about Monday mornings.

Don’t Spam Newsfeeds with Constant Updates

This is a well-known problem and one which infuriates users. It’s great if you are producing worthwhile content and engaging with customers regularly. Just make sure it is not too regularly. Twitter and Facebook vary in regards to what constitutes spamming but be aware that relentless posting will not boost engagement and most likely turn people off from your brand. There is no need to update your Facebook page more than once a day – you will still be able to pick up fans and followers readily.

Do Write Your Own Content

Consumers will follow or like your company because they are interested in what news you have to say or what thoughts you have to share. If all you do is share other people’s content than you are offering little of value in and of yourself. Consumers will simply follow your links or get the same information directly from the source, negating the need to visit or engage with your site. Write your own content, seeing it as an opportunity to showcase your own skills and expertise to a wider audience.

Don’t Just Advertise

If there is one thing consumers dislike most about brands and social media it is shameless advertising. By all means share achievements and success with your audience. Outline why you are the leaders in your industry and what you do better than anyone else. But you must substantiate this with genuine information and data lest it be pegged as meaningless corporate advertising.

Do Be a Human

One advantage social media gives corporations is the opportunity to humanise their organisation. A major gripe with consumers is trying to interact with a faceless corporation out of touch with the common man. Social media is a way of reaching out to the public and showcasing the human side of the company on a personal level. Engage directly with consumers on a person to person basis, having your staff answer consumer queries personally.

Don’t Use Automated Programs

As a consequence of your attempts to appear real and genuine, avoid the use of automated response programs. These tools automatically send a generic message to any new followers thanking them and often attempting to proposition them a client. This does nothing but antagonise new visitors and will damage your attempt to gain new leads. 

Ross Moffat is a PR and Marketing enthusiast and freelance writer for PR Consultancy Beattie Communications, who has been writing professionally for over 2 years.

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Google Reader will be cremated in July; RIP Google Reader!

As a part of this spring-cleaning, Google has decided to burn down it’s not so popular Google Reader. Google is bringing it down on July 1^st. It started of as a feed parser, which turned into feed reader. It was launched as a Google Lab project in 2005. Later it was integrated with iGoogle along with added social features. In 2011, Google fired its social features and started all social features under a separate with as Google +1. After this, a lot of people lost interest in feeds and browsers dropped support for reading feeds.

Why is it good to dismantle Google Reader?

Although it is good to have immediate access to all latest information as soon as it is made available to readers, but not all websites support RSS feeds. So, it is not possible to subscribe to all your favorite websites. Another problem is that a lot of feeds are updated frequently, and not all of them are of your interest. Therefore, it takes time to sort feeds that are of your interest from this large pool of data. A lot of feeds on Google Reader do not display images. Although its not an important part, but images help to locate something interesting faster and attracts you to read on.

Best alternatives for Google Reader

There is no consolation for Google Reader admirers, but fortunately there are enough handsome alternatives, which you will enjoy using.

Feedly

It is a free RSS reader, which combines organizational qualities of Google’s software along with magazine-style design. Feeds are easily added and organized and the Today tab makes it easy to scroll latest feeds of the day. It is available as an extension of Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox and other mobile apps for iOS and Android.

Pulse

Pulse is another friendly reader with free iOS and Android apps. Pulse updates feed in tile format where stores appear as a series of clickable photo tiles. You can click on each link to read further. In full-view mode, you can tap the next or previous arrow to read the next story. There are Facebook and Twitter fast share buttons to share feeds quickly. While registering for the first time, you can choose to follow specific subjects such as technology or sport.

Flipboard

It is social magazine for Android and iOS with gorgeous design making it look like a digital magazine. In addition to RSS feeds, you can add Twitter and Facebook feeds to make it more dynamic and visually appealing. The only drawback of Flipboard is that it is only for mobile.

Twitter

Though Twitter is not an RSS reader, but social network is another alternative to keep up with the latest news. You can create separate lists based on topics and add accounts that you like to follow. It is the best way to separate feeds of your interest from the rest. You can use Twitter on any platform (desktop, tablets or smartphones).

-Authored by Sarah Bruce, an SEO analyst, who has successfully created strategies to remove consumer affairs & also to how to remove negative reviews about your business/Services.  Visit www.lemonpeak.com to learn more.

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Importance of Keyword Research in Search Engine Optimization

You type few words on the search box; that’s where everything begins! In Search Marketing, keyword research plays a very vital role. Correct ranking of the right keyword can make our website. If not, it will break your website. Learning SEO tricks will not work for you if you do not understand your customer. Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how many visitors visited your site, the right visitor is all your website needs. With the help of keyword research, you get a better understanding of the shift of demand. Based on this, you can respond to the changing market and produce your product or service accordingly.

Judging the Value of Keywords

How worthy is a keyword to your website? Suppose you own an online apparel store. Now, you need to generalize whether you make more sales when visitors search for “red dress” or “black dress”. Keywords that visitor types on the search bar are available to webmaster. Keyword research tools allow you to find details about these keywords. Though these tools do not give straightaway synopsis of how valuable a particular keyword is, but helps you to understand keywords better. You can conduct tests to understand the value of a particular keyword on your website.

Understand Long Tail of Keyword Demand

It’s great to deal with keywords that has over 5,000 searches in a day, or may be 1,000 or 500. But in reality, if you combine these popular searches, it forms up to 30% (approx) of the searches performed online. Rest 70% depends on long tail of search. Long tail consists of the millions of unique searches conducted few times in a day. When you combine it, it forms the majority of demand for information in the world, through search engines. These long tail keywords convert better. A person looking for red dress might be only interested in browsing, but not buying. However, someone searching for Calvin Klein Red Wool Pleated Trench Coat size 10 will probably be interested to buy it.

Keyword Research

There are several research sources, which you can use to gain knowledge about keyword referrals and keyword demands. Some of these research resources are:

• Ø Google Adword’s Keyword Tool
• Ø Google Trends Keyword Demand Prediction
• Ø Google Insight for Search
• Ø Wordtracker’s Free Basic Keyword Demand
• Ø Microsoft Advertising Intelligence

These tools are used to estimate search volume, take keyword suggestions and predict cost of paid campaign that are currently running for keywords. In order to understand, which keywords you should target, it is essential to understand the demand of a particular keyword and to work accordingly to achieve that ranking.

SEO is a complicated undertaking and a lot of other things are considered in full optimization, but the basic keyword-related tasks are the main focus of Search Engine Optimization.

-Authored by Sarah Bruce, an SEO analyst, who has successfully created strategies to remove negative reviews by user& also to remove complaints about your business/Services.  Visit www.lemonpeak.com to learn more.

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Why Quality Content Is Vital Post Penguin and Panda Updates

Are you a part of the Search Engine Optimization industry? If so, it is important for you to remain updated and change your methods based on algorithm updates. You must have heard about Google's Panda and Penguin updates. In fact Matt Cutts announced in the last few days that there will be a Panda update this weekend and you can also expect a Penguin update in the near future. Google regularly makes variations in their algorithms to identify spammers and penalise several websites who do not follow their process.

Google always aims to deliver authentic information to its people by showing complete details of the searched object. Apart from that, the search engine giant also tries to ensure that users do not come across pages or sites filled with spammy content. However, if your site ranking is affected by the updates you have a lot of time to improve things. Your site can be surely recovered, the only thing is that you must understand the variations brought about by the search engine in its regular panda and penguin updates. A couple of points are very obvious such as you should never choose inorganic techniques like spamming, over optimization, excessive stuffing of keywords etc.

Everyone knows that Google focuses on their particular algorithms and lots of people try to cheat the formula in order to ensure high rankings rapidly. However, such techniques will no longer work because Google is continually updating its formula and coming up with newer updates. After these updates, it has become really difficult to cheat SEO rankings. It has now become necessary to follow organic ways of optimizing websites which will help in enhancing your rankings. Below are a few beneficial points associated with the panda update which will help you adopt some ethical organic techniques.

Top Quality Content

Gone are the days when individuals used to publish poor and spammy articles. Search engines now flag such websites as spam and therefore, it has become essential to write excellent and unique content. Keep in mind that poor and duplicate content is disliked by every person!

Pure Circulation of Keywords

Too much use and abnormal distribution of key phrases in articles is also regarded as spam now. Search engines only consider content that is high quality and unique.

Helpful Links Merely

Does your website boast of advertisements on its left, right, top and bottom? Then probably, it will receive a penalization from the Panda update. You may show a relevant website link on your site if you feel it is really helpful for the readers. In lieu of its most recent updates, Google can easily locate websites with excessive affiliates. Excessive use of advertisements on a site is regarded as poor from Google's point of view.

Influential websites

Search engines favour those websites that have a fantastic market. It is necessary for you to look for a topic and keep following it. This will assist visitors in finding something they are searching for. You can select a topic depending on your knowledge and develop a relevant site.

Fair optimization

We refer to 'fair' as natural optimization. Website owners used to apply poor and unethical Search Engine Optimization techniques to try to fool the search engines. However, it is no longer feasible now. Google keeps a watch on spammers and punishes over-optimized websites. Therefore, it is now essential to follow only organic techniques in order to carry out SEO.

Author Bio: Blogger who researches and talks about all things to do with SEO and the internet marketing industry for Integrity SEO  

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Guide to: Optimize Your Website for Mobile Search

Almost everyone has a smartphone or a windows phone these days. Many people are now using their phones to access the web daily. In order to keep up with the times, it would be good to take steps to optimize your website for mobile search. By doing this, you will be tapping into a growing segment of a new market out there. It will only help to promote your business even more if you make your website more mobile friendly.

So how do you go about optimizing your website for mobile search? Don’t be daunted by the fact that you will have to make changes. Simply keep the tips given below in mind and you will soon make your website easily accessible on a mobile.

• Preview your site on mobile devices: This is the most important thing you should do and definitely the first! You must check to see how your website looks on a mobile device. It may not be possible to check your website on every mobile device that is out there but do try to check it on a couple at least. You can then see what changes need to be made.

• Support several (or as many) mobile devices as possible: It is also essential that your website can be viewed on various different types of mobile devices. Cross device compatibility is important. There is no point in having a high ranking in mobile search if your website cannot be accessed easily across various devices. A user who finds this problem with your site will simply go to another one. It will also make you appear less professional and this is not good at all.

• Use shorter keyword and key phrases: Mobile searchers are usually brief in their queries/searches. This is because they find typing on QWERTY keyboards on their phones tiresome and problematic. Most times, they only put in keywords. Users may also limit their searches to 1 or 2 keywords only. Therefore ensure that you stick to short keywords and keywords phrases.

• Use current data:  Keep in mind that current data is what is looked for in mobile search. So you will need to make sure that your site covers the latest news in sports, the weather, market information, financial information and so on. If your site caters to any one of these niches, keep it updated regularly. You really need to optimize it for mobile search because you will be losing visitors if you do not do so.

• Keep pages short:  Mobile searchers hate scrolling through long pages. Further, mobile screens are usually small and reading long pages of text can be off-putting or almost next to impossible. It is important that you keep your pages short. Ensure that mobile users do not need to scroll down more than 5- 10 times, max. Try and put the main keywords on the first page itself.

• Avoid animation and heavy graphics: Remember that the pages of your website must load fast. Using too many graphics and animation will slow down the amount of time your page takes to load. Try and use lean graphics and cut down on the animation on your site.

• Promote your site in mobile searches: Promote your site to directories, mobile search engines, and mobile portals. List your sites with various portals. Very often mobile users go to portals. If your website is listed with that particular portal, the user will come to you. Many mobile users now use portals instead of search engines.

• Target your website locally: Very often, mobile users look for local information. Try to target your website locally, if possible. This works great if you have your own restaurant or shop.

Follow the above steps and then sit back and enjoy the results! Good luck!

Ryan Larkin writes for Broadbandproviders.com, the leading provider of the best value broadband internet - He authors about the latest in Technology, Internet and Blogging.

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Best Practices: Digital Marketing on Social Media

Marketing practices and techniques have come a long way since the advent of social media and is growing by leaps and bounds ever since.  Digital marketing is the sign of the times and marketing through electronic devices include advertisement and marketing techniques offered over the internet through devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, digital billboard advertising, etc.  Internet marketing is a major factor where digital marketing is concerned and this has resulted in increased investment in the recent past.

Marketing companies are well aware of these newly evolved techniques of advertising and selling their products. As digital marketing has taken on an enhanced prominence, there are certain factors to consider, that marketers will do well to follow. Appealing to a young and energetic class of buyers and social media users is ideally done through digital marketing for which the following points should be kept in mind.

• Stand out in the crowd - Online marketing is augmented using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.  It makes the marketer stand out in the crowd of competitors which is the one aim of any marketing professional digital or otherwise.  Digital marketing, through social media needs proper branding, so that this particular business is ahead of competition and is at the top of the charts.  Consistency and top end show on social media, is the key to success.

• Reliability and honest service - The second most important aspect of digital marketing is reliability.  Online customers are a wary lot and will tend to back off at the slightest hint of distrust.  Marketers resorting to this sort of digital marketing should study their customers, give them what they want and ensure delivery of products and services in the most efficient and trustworthy manner.

• Entice and add suspense – Digital marketing works on the principal of attracting the customer right at the outset.  This is done with a wonderful array of products, attractive schemes and discounts and a certain element of suspense which will make the customer delve further to find out more and more.  Moreover, the focus should be on clarity, minimum confusion and getting straight to the point. Curiosity in products marketed through digital media will mean customers and prospective buyers will click through for added information.  Marketers resorting to this form of advertising will do well to ensure that this information is available easily at the click of a mouse so as to hold the buyer’s interest.

• Integrate marketing with interaction – Marketing strategies through digital media works best when feedback, conversation and answers to questions are resorted to. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn all enable interaction with customers, encouraging their feedback and permitting them to ask questions with regard to the product.  These forms of feedback may be positive or negative and both work to the marketers advantage to enable better improvement of services rendered.

Digital marketing on social media means minimum cost involved in set up.  Marketing through social media is relatively cheaper than most other forms of marketing and advertising.  Cost effectiveness works to an advantage, leaving the marketer with added time and funds to concentrate of products and services, introduction of new and innovative schemes and extending discounts to customers.  All this will go a long way in steering traffic towards your business, making the business more credible and ensuring better branding of the business in the eyes of Facebook fans and Twitter followers.  Digital marketing on LinkedIn has its advantages as it permits association with like minded people, who share your same view, visions and aspirations for the future. 

Social media marketing is growing in importance with every passing day. Businesses will do well to implement this form of digital marketing with traditional marketing techniques so as to ensure optimum growth of the business.

Michael Rae, a freelance writer for www.firsthomealarm.com - offers full home security to help protect your family, assets from burglary and other crimes. www.firsthomealarm.com

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Marketing your Brand on Instagram

With Instagram, it’s the visual web that's now leading the trend since two years. Instagram, with more than 100 million users, is the most popular photo-sharing app that has effectively turned every user into an amateur photographer. But within the thousands of silhouettes and hundreds of painted nails snapshots, lies a powerful marketing tool that most of the brands often ignore. Yes, Instagram is the best marketing tool for your brand, if you wish to showcase the visual side of your company. Just one shot of your product can lead to greater brand awareness scoring tons of likes and followers.

Instagram users generate content that pave way for brands and businesses to bind the ultimate power of sharing photos, by increasing the customer relations for enhanced feedback loops. Here’s how you can market your brand on Instagram:

Calendar:

Images are the ideal way to communicate with your customers and clients. This makes Instagram the best distribution channel for visually alluring content. When you are launching a new product or hosting an important event, a photograph of the particular product or the event preparation can let out more information than your press releases. To make your photos more successful, create a calendar and post a minimum of 2-3 photos every week. When you post a photo, you need to describe the type of content you are creating. Before you start posting, you can select a specific theme and create your content accordingly. I have listed a few ideas for you to get started:

• ·         Photos of your products
• ·         A sneak peek of your upcoming products
• ·         Some good behind the scenes shots
• ·         Creative photos of various uses of your current products
• ·         Snapshots from your future marketing ads

Focus on Hashtags:

Hashtags are a great way to sort your photos on Instagram and are essential when it comes to promoting images. With this, people can easily find the brands and businesses related to their interests. All you need to do is choose popular hashtags that can make your photos rank among the best. While choosing, check out for a few specific hashtags and try sticking to them, rather than having 50 hashtags in your comment area. You can have your brand name or the name of your best-selling products as hashtags. Creating various hashtags that can build your business or brand network can be good practice.

Be Interactive:

Whether you are active on Instagram or not, your clients and customers are already talking about your business and your products. So there's no other better place to start a conversation. Interact with your customers and comment on your customers' photos or posts about your business. Instagram is also an opportunity for you to engage with your customers. Try to show some interest in your customers’ photos by liking it or commenting on it and this can help in increasing your popularity. In simple words, the more social you are the more people will love your brand.

Post Engaging Content:

Do remember the fact; around 250 million photos are uploaded every day on Instagram. So it's important that your photos are original as well as visually stunning. Furthermore, your costumers love to look at different photos related to their interests. So ensure you post relevant and engaging photos that can spread your business and build your Instagram network. At the same time, you should maintain a frequency in posting, as if your customers are following many people, then your posts can easily get lost in the stream of pictures being posted every minute. So it’s better to plan and work out accordingly.

Set Up Events:

It's more like taking advantage of the appropriate moment. Whenever, you have any new activities or events coming up, you can create different hashtags to increase anticipation among people and ultimately boost the number of people attending your event. And during the event, you can upload photos and post content related to it regularly to let your customers know about the event.

It’s not just these, there are a lot more things you can try while marketing your brand on Instagram. In short, Instagram is indeed a great way to increase your brand awareness, customer engagement and drive more traffic to your website. So, it’s time you get started now!

Andrea Walters, a freelance writer for www.satellitesales.com – The Lowest-Priced Satellite TV in America. www.satellitesales.com

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